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19 May 2003 : Column 530W—continued
Employment Tribunals
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to review the powers of chairmen of employment tribunals to decide which witnesses should be called. [113755]
Alan Johnson: There are no plans to review the powers of chairmen to decide which witnesses should be called to appear before an employment tribunal.
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recourse a party in an employment tribunal action has where the chairman refuses to issue a witness order. [113756]
Alan Johnson: Where an employment tribunal has refused to issue a witness order, an appeal may be brought to the Employment Appeal Tribunal on a point of law.
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to increase the penalties for failure to attend an employment tribunal following being served with a witness order; and if she will make a statement. [113758]
Alan Johnson: There are no plans to increase the relevant penalty for failure to attend an employment tribunal after being served with a witness order. The legislation specifies a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (currently set at £1,000).
Export Licences
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 12 May 2003, Official Report, column 17W, on export licences, what assessment she has made of the problems with the extraterritorial export controls in the United States of America, other than with enforcement; and if she will make a statement on the reasons underlying her assessment that the extraterritorial export controls in the United States are less effective than those proposed in the United Kingdom. [113896]
Nigel Griffiths: I am advised that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of extraterritorial export controls in the US other than with enforcement, nor has she said that the extraterritorial export controls in the US are less effective that those proposed in the UK.
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Electronic Communications Regulations
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Regulations. [111730]
Mr. Timms: No representations have been received since the Regulations (S.I. 2003/33) were made on 9 January. The Department had however consulted on the subject matter of these Regulations (together with the subject matter of the Electronic Communications (Market Analysis) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/330)) in August 2002 and the Regulations that have been made take account of the responses to that consultation.
Manufacturing (Greater London)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has held with the London Chamber of Commerce regarding manufacturing employment within the Greater London area. [113354]
Alan Johnson: The Department has regular dialogue with the London Chamber, other London business organisations and with the London Development Agency concerning manufacturing issues and employment issues. In delivering the Government's Manufacturing Strategy with Industry and other stakeholders, we are helping employer and employees to actively engage in the skills development necessary for a successful manufacturing sector.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what definitions are used to categorise (a) high, (b) intermediate and (c) low level nuclear waste; and how much waste was produced in each of the last three years. [112898]
Mr. Meacher: I have been asked to reply.
Radioactive waste is categorised according to its radioactivity content and the heat it produces:
- Low Level Wastes (LLW) contain radioactive materials other than those suitable for disposal with ordinary refuse, but not exceeding 4 GBq/te (gigabecquerels) of alpha or 12 GBq/te of beta/gamma activity—that is, wastes which can be normally be accepted for authorised disposal at Drigg or other landfill sites by controlled burial.
Intermediate Level Wastes (ILW) contain radioactivity levels exceeding the upper boundaries for LLW, but which do not need heat to be taken into account in the design of storage or disposal facilities.
High Level Wastes (HLW) are wastes in which the temperature may rise significantly as a result of their radioactivity, so this factor has to be taken into account in designing storage or disposal facilities.
19 May 2003 : Column 532W
| HLW | ILW | LLW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | approx 50m(4) | approx 1,500m(4) | approx 11,000m(4) |
| 2000 | approx 50m(4) | approx 1,500m(4) | approx 11,000m(4) |
| 2001 | 68m(4) | 3,026m(4) | 12,447m(4) |
Note:
m
(2) is a cubic metre
Post Office
Mr. Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many sub post offices in London have been closed in each of the last six months. [113894]
Mr. Timms: Post Office Ltd. collates figures for post office openings and closures on a quarterly basis. I am advised that in the London region there were net closures of 21 post offices in the October-December 2002 quarter and 15 net closures (of which 11 were Urban Reinvention programme closures) in the January-March 2003 quarter.
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 29 April 2003, Official Report, column 183W, on post offices, when support for over the counter advice provided under the Your Guide pilot by post office staff ceased; and whether those facilities listed as continuing beyond March 2002 in the Your Guide Pilot Evaluation Report continued as set out. [113914]
Mr. Timms: The Your Guide pilot ended on 1 March 2002. Over the counter advice and services which were available at post offices prior to the Your Guide pilot, but which were incorporated in the Your Guide service for the duration of the pilot, continue to be available as before.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will establish regional targets for renewable energy development within the 10 per cent. national target. [113975]
Mr. Wilson: As stated in the Energy White Paper, we propose to ensure that a strategic approach to energy is developed and implemented in each region. We expect that this strategic approach will include regional targets (such as for renewables and energy efficiency) negotiated between the region and national Government.
Small Businesses (Regulation)
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with colleagues in the European Union concerning the impact of regulation on small business; and if she will make a statement. [112447]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 12 May 2003]: Discussions on the impact of regulation have been held at every level, including the Competitiveness Council in March attended by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the SME EU ministerial conference in February, and on Tuesday 13 May with Commissioner Liikanen.
The UK has championed this cause in Europe through "Think Small First", and we have taken action to make the UK the least bureaucratic country in
19 May 2003 : Column 533W
Europe to establish a business in. We also urge our European counterparts to follow the UK's lead in lifting regulatory and other burdens by having the most favourable VAT threshold in Europe, 100 per cent. tax write-offs for SMEs who buy computer equipment and connect to the web, 40 per cent. tax allowances for plant and machinery and a zero starting rate for corporation tax.
We have also supported the setting up of an independent liaison office in Brussels (smallbusiness/europe) to represent the concerns of UK SMEs to the EU.
Temporary Workers
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employment agencies have submitted responses to her Department's consultation paper on the EU Commission proposals for a directive on the working conditions of temporary (agency) workers; and if she will make a statement. [113498]
Alan Johnson: 15 employment agencies submitted responses to the Consultation On The Proposed Directive on Temporary (Agency) Work.
The Government are not opposed in principle to the proposed directive on temporary agency work, but are keenly aware of the potential impact on UK agencies and agency workers of a Directive that takes no account of conditions in the UK labour market. The Government are pressing very hard for the UK's legitimate concerns to be recognised.
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